How might have eric rationalized his fraudulent behavior

Assignment Help Operation Management
Reference no: EM132078569

ETHICS GUIDE:

PAID DELETION

Robin wound her way up to the third floor of the parking garage. As she began backing up into her assigned spot, she noticed that the car she expected to see in her side mirror was not there. Rather, a shiny new luxury car was parked in that spot. The space occupied by the car belonged to Eric Pittman, a colleague on their employer’s search engine optimization team. Robin and Eric had both worked for the company a leading Web search provider for about 5 years. Based on conversations they’d had while out for drinks after work, they had comparable salaries, too. Robin wondered how Eric could afford such a nice car considering they were both struggling to afford basic living expenses in such an expensive city.

Robin’s thoughts turned to the meetings she had lined up all morning she probably wouldn’t be able to check her email until after lunch. With a grimace, she descended to the first floor in the elevator. She counted the number of days until the weekend and le out a groan.

Eraser for Hire

Eric and Robin burst out of the conference room as quickly as they could. It was almost 6 o’clock and they had just left their last meeting of the day. “Do you want to grab a bite to eat at that Greek place?” Eric asked. “Sure,” Robin replied. “I am happy to go anywhere that’s at least a mile from this officer!” They jumped into their cars and met up at the restaurant. They gossiped about some of their colleagues and poked fun at their bosses while they waited for the food to arrive. Once it arrived and Eric picked up his gyro to take a bite, Robin noticed his brand-new luxury watch.

“Time out!” Robin exclaimed. “You need to tell me what is going on! I parked my car next to your brand-new set of wheels this morning. I didn’t want to say anything, but I just noticed that you have a brand-new watch, too. Did you get some sort of bonus that I don’t know about?” she asked, half-kidding and half-worried. She wondered why she wouldn’t have received a bonus, too. Eric immediately had a concerned look on his face. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked.

Eric described an unraveling chain of events in which a number of companies operating in the area had approached him about the possibility of providing “reputation management” service. Each company had recently had some form of negative press, though each form was different. One large manufacturing company was dealing with environmental protection violations. A large retailer had to explain why it provided inadequate health benefits to its employees. A popular chain of restaurants had recently had a long list of health-code violations. The companies had come to Eric because his dad was a well-known consultant to many large companies in the area.

Each company had offered Eric a substantial financial incentive to tweak the results of Web searches using key terms relevant to these negative incidents. Eric had used his access to the search algorithms to make sure any negative press about these incidents showed up several pages deep in the search results, thus minimizing the likelihood that anyone would see them. In some cases, Eric even had the content completely removed from the search index.

Thanks to Eric, the negative stories had very little impact on the companies. His work limited the availability of information about these events via search engine. “With what they paid me, I paid off my student loans, prepaid the lease on my apartment for the whole year, and still had some left over to treat myself a bit.” He said with pride. “Are you interested in being part of this?”

Robin was astounded. She couldn’t imagine what would happen to Eric if some found out what he had done. She also couldn’t bring herself to think about what would happen to their employer if someone found out its search results had been manipulated. Not only could Eric be in trouble, but the company could severely damage. She could lose her job, too.

But now that she knew about Eric’s actions, she worried that she might be considered an accessory to search engine manipulation if she didn’t report his behavior. Robin took another bite of her gyro; it didn’t taste nearly as good as it had about 20 minutes before.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. According to the definitions of the ethical principles previously defined in this book:

a. Do you think that removing content on the internet and manipulating search engine results for money is ethical according to the categorical imperative (pages 23-24)?

b. Do you think that removing content on the internet and manipulating search engine results for money is ethical according to the utilitarian perspective (pages 60-61)?

2. How might have Eric rationalized his fraudulent behavior?

3. How could an employer prevent this type of manipulation? What type of policies or procedures could be implemented to prevent this type of fraud?

4. Even if Eric were caught, would he be guilty of a crime? Which laws govern search engine management?

5. Would his employer be motivated to report this fraudulent behavior? Why or why not?

Reference no: EM132078569

Questions Cloud

The education technology integration : Add an educational technology component such as an app or an actual piece of technology that would address a special need or needs for the lesson.
Results suggest about opec monopoly power : Interpret this result and show the results graphically. What do these results suggest about OPEC's monopoly power?
What can be done long before trainee attends training : What can be done long before a trainee attends training to ensure that the trainee will be motivated to learn?
Review problem on sarbanes oxley : The assignment is to write a 1,000 word paper on one of the topic listed above. You must use 3 professional sources (no wiki or ~pedias) and follow APA format.
How might have eric rationalized his fraudulent behavior : According to the definitions of the ethical principles previously defined in this book. How might have Eric rationalized his fraudulent behavior?
Define the term suburbia : Define the term "suburbia".
Calculate the difference in the effective interest rates : You have a savings account that pays 3.6% interest compounded semiannually, but you are considering transferring your funds into a savings account that pays.
What is the wacc for the company : The corporate tax rate is 40 percent, the market risk premium is 7 percent, and the risk-free rate is 4 percent. What is the WACC for the company?
Implications for managing employees from such culture : Where does this culture sit in regard to these five dimensions? What are the implications for managing employees from such a culture?

Reviews

Write a Review

Operation Management Questions & Answers

  Book review - the goal

Operations Management is about a book review. Title of the book is "Goal". This book has been written by Dr. Eliyahu Goldartt. The book has been appreciated by many as one of those books which offers an insight into the operations and strategic capac..

  Operational plan in hospitality enterprise

Operational plan pertaining to a hospitality enterprise is given in detail in the solution. The operational plan is an important plan or preparation which gives guidelines regarding the role and responsibilities of each and every operation at all lev..

  Managing operations and information

Recognise the importance of a strategic approach to the development and deployment of organisational information systems. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of databases and their integration to the organisation's overall information mana..

  A make-or-buy analysis

An analysis of the holding costs, including the appropriate annual holding cost rate.

  Evolution and contributor of operations management

Briefly explain Evolution and contributor of Operations management.

  Functions and responsibilities of an operations manager

A number of drivers of change have transformed the roles, functions and responsibilities of an operations manager over recent years. These drivers have not only been based on technological innovations but also on the need for organisations to develop..

  Compute the optimal order quantity

Compute the Optimal Order quantity of DVD players. Determine the appropriate reorder point.

  Relationship to operations practice in the organisation

Evaluate problems in operations and identify approaches to overcoming them. Critically evaluate operating plans and identify areas for improvement. Justify, implement and evaluate changes to operations in line with modern approaches.

  A make or buy analysis

Develop a report for Figi Fabricating that will address the question of whether the company should continue to purchase the part from the supplier or begin to produce the part itself.

  Prepare a staffing plan

Prepare a staffing plan showing the change of your unit from medical/surgical staffing to oncology staffing.

  Leadership styles in different organizations

Ccompare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organizations

  Risk management tools and models

Be able to understand the concept of risk, roles and responsibilities for risk management and risk management tools and models.

Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd